Boastful soldier

Definition

The boastful soldier is a recurring character type in comedy, often depicted as overly confident and self-aggrandizing, claiming bravery and prowess in battle despite often being cowardly or inept. This character embodies the themes of false bravado and the folly of pride, serving as a source of humor and satire in comedic narratives.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. The boastful soldier archetype can be traced back to Greek comedies, influencing the development of similar characters in Roman works.
2. In Plautine comedy, the boastful soldier often serves as a foil to other characters, highlighting their virtues through contrast.
3. The humor derived from the boastful soldier usually revolves around their overblown self-confidence leading to embarrassing situations.
4. These characters often experience comic humiliation as their boasts are put to the test, providing moral lessons about humility.
5. The boastful soldier is typically portrayed with physical comedy elements, emphasizing their exaggerated movements and reactions in humorous scenarios.

Review Questions

• How does the boastful soldier character serve to enhance comedic elements in Plautine plays?
  • The boastful soldier enhances comedic elements by embodying the traits of arrogance and cowardice, leading to humorous situations where their bravado is challenged. This character often finds themselves in absurd scenarios that showcase their ineptitude, resulting in laughter from the audience. Additionally, by serving as a foil to more genuine characters, the boastful soldier helps to highlight qualities like bravery and honesty, further enriching the comedic narrative.
• Discuss the influence of Greek comedy on the development of the boastful soldier character in Roman theater.
  • Greek comedy laid the groundwork for the development of stock characters like the boastful soldier in Roman theater. The Romans adopted and adapted these archetypes, maintaining the core characteristics while infusing them with their cultural context. This transformation often involved amplifying the absurdity of these characters' boasts and integrating them into plots that reflected Roman social dynamics, thus creating a distinct yet familiar comedic tradition that resonated with audiences.
• Evaluate how physical comedy and farcical elements contribute to the portrayal of the boastful soldier in Plautine plays.
  • Physical comedy and farcical elements are essential to portraying the boastful soldier, as they accentuate their ridiculousness through exaggerated actions and reactions. These techniques create visual humor that complements their verbal boasts, often resulting in slapstick moments that highlight their failures. This combination not only entertains but also serves to critique societal values surrounding masculinity and honor by exposing the folly inherent in excessive pride and bravado.

Related terms

Miles Gloriosus: A stock character from Roman comedy, literally meaning 'glorious soldier,' who is known for his inflated sense of self-importance and tendency to boast about his military exploits.

Comic Irony: A literary device where there is a contrast between expectation and reality, often used to highlight the absurdity of a character's claims, such as those made by the boastful soldier.

Farce:

A comedic genre characterized by exaggerated and improbable situations, often involving stock characters like the boastful soldier to create humor through absurdity.